Rugby league tragic Lindsey Cuthbertson reviews Liam Hauser’s ‘State of Origin: 40 Years’, the third and latest instalment of his definitive coverage of the jewel in the code’s crown.
Almanac Book Review – ‘The Death of Fitzroy Football Club’: Hands have been clenched into fists too long
June 7, 2020 by 10 Comments
Shane Reid gets a real buzz reading Russell Holmesby’s book which is not only about the last year’s of Fitzroy but about the Fitzroy of his early life. It’s not just a book of death. [Terrific personal review essay – Ed]
Almanac Book Review – ‘The Big O: the life and times of Olsen Filipaina’ by Patrick Skene
June 2, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Ian Hauser reviews Patrick Skene’s new book, ‘The Big O: the life and times of Olsen Filipaina’ – a significant addition to the (all too) limited literature of rugby league.
‘On The Take: The 1910 Scandal That Changed Australian Football Forever’ – review by Roy Hay
May 6, 2020 by 3 Comments
Roy Hay reviews a fascinating new release, ‘On The Take: The 1910 Scandal That Changed Australian Football Forever’ by Tony Joel & Mathew Turner. This book is sure to generate much interest for aficionados of football history.
Reading sports books in the time of Cholera
May 2, 2020 by 5 Comments
Sean Curtain has been using this time to re-visit some classic old (and new) sportsbooks. Here he walks us through a section of his library.
Almanac Book Review: Phil Dimitriadis on Damian Balassone’s ‘Strange Game in a Strange Land’
May 1, 2020 by 6 Comments
Phil Dimitriadis has followed the emergence of Damian Balassone as a poet since 2008. They have a fair bit in common, as this review essay suggests. ‘Strange Game in a Strange Land’ will resonate with those who love words and the game.
Almanac Book Review: 1989 – The Great Grand Final
April 24, 2020 by 3 Comments
Roger Lowrey reviews Tony Wilson’s new book 1989: The Great Grand Final. It’s a tough job for a Geelong fan Like Rog, but he shows a fair deal of good grace.
Almanac Book Review: The craziness that is “Not Bad Thanks”
February 21, 2020 by 1 Comment
Deakin Uni student and basketball enthusiast Mark Miller recently read Not Bad Thanks the story of a basketball club/team/phenomenon that has graced the courts of Melbourne since 1980. This is his review.
Almanac (Cricket) Book Review: The Art of Centuries
February 13, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Dan Hoban reviews The Art of Centuries by former English county cricketer Steve James.
“Talking Sideways” – by Reg Dodd & Malcolm McKinnon
December 6, 2019 by Leave a Comment
“Talking Sideways”, a new book by Reg Dodd & Malcolm McKinnon is a story about Aboriginal life, of living and growing up around Finniss Springs in South Australia’s arid north.
Footy Town: an experiential book review
November 14, 2019 by 9 Comments
Henry Ballard’s attitude to reading changed over the duration of his recently completed Bachelor of Communications degree at Deakin University. “Footy Town” was an integral read for him in the final stages of his course as his review of the book reveals. [Henry was an intern at The Footy Almanac during 2019 – Ed]
Match: South Australia v New South Wales 16-21 December 1927 by Bernard Whimpress
November 12, 2019 by 3 Comments
A new cricket book by Bernard Whimpress about a significant Sheffield Shield match in 1927 involving Don Bradman’s first class debut has just been released and is sure to be of great interest to all cricket aficionados. Check out the book details here.
The Great Romantic: Cricket & the Golden Age of Neville Cardus
November 12, 2019 by 1 Comment
There’s nothing better than a fab cricket book to get stuck into! Col’s just finished reading a great book about the doyen of cricket commentators, Neville Cardus and the Golden Age of cricket which he thoroughly enjoyed. Check it out.
Almanac Book Review – The Totem Poles of Ouyen United: Travels in Country Footy by Paul Daffey
October 4, 2019 by 3 Comments
Rodney Gillett reviews Paul Daffey’s excellent new book, “The Totem Poles of Ouyen United: Travels in Country Footy”. Check it out.
Almanac Book Review: Aboriginal People and Australian Football in the Nineteenth Century: They Did Not Come from Nowhere by Roy Hay
July 24, 2019 by 1 Comment
Roy Hay has written a wonderful new book examining the history of indigenous involvement in the development of the game as we know it today. Here is Col Ritchie’s review of the book. [The book is available at a reduced price for the month of July – Ed]
Book Review – Golden Boy by Christian Ryan: When dreams come true
May 1, 2019 by 4 Comments
To mark the occasion of Christian Ryan’s ‘Golden Boy’ being declared Wisden’s best-ever cricket book, Les Everett reprises his insightful review of that book. (Kim Hughes was someone Les had personal experience of – Ed).
Almanac Books: Not Bad Thanks is a hoot
April 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment
If you want an entertaining examination of mateship and sporting obsession, John Harms thinks Graeme Willingham’s ‘Not Bad Thanks’ is an excellent investment. For extracts, and details on how to obtain the book, please read further.
Almanac Book Review – Leather Soul: Reflections of Bob Murphy’s Football Career and Inner Feeling with Uniqueness
January 13, 2019 by 4 Comments
Yoshi has started 2019 by reading Bob Murphy’s book Leather Soul.
Almanac Book Review – A Wink from the Universe: Trust and positives having created Bulldogs fairytales
September 19, 2018 by 2 Comments
Yoshi has taken much inspiration from Martin Flanagan’s retelling of the Bulldogs’ 2016 season.
Almanac Book Review – The Women’s Footy Almanac 2018: Women still doing it for themselves
September 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Women are doing it for themselves, writes Cheryl Critchley in her review of The Women’s Footy Almanac 2018. Kudos to the whole Almanac community who helped realise this project, with a special shout out to editors Kasey Symons and Yvette Wroby and publisher John Harms.
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